William Nylander was spotted wearing another team's jersey and Leaf fans had all the reactions

BarDown Staff

LeBrun on Dubas' meeting with Nylander, Leafs' loss to Penguins

William Nylander has been nowhere to be seen this season but it looks like he’s trying to stay in shape.

The restricted free agent has been on the sidelines so far without a new contract while his Leaf teammates have been on an offensive surge to start the year, but that doesn’t mean he’s been spending his time away from the game. Though general manager Kyle Dubas visited Switzerland to discuss matters with his young star, Nylander was seen rocking a Dornbirn Bulldogs jersey of the Austrian Hockey League. This is probably an image Leaf fans won’t want to keep in their minds for too long…

@wmnylander practising with Austrian hockey team Dornbirn Bulldogs this week. Image shows Nylander together with Bulldogs Head Coach @DaveMacQueen. pic.twitter.com/qFrtAPTqS0
— Dornbirn Bulldogs (@DECBulldogs) October 19, 2018

Okay, so maybe there’s not much more to this other than the forward is simply trying to keep in shape, but it is definitely worth keeping an eye on. Some Leaf fans appeared to be a little concerned with the photo.

The hair. The beard. Both in peak post-Lou form. The Leafs need THIS William Nylander. https://t.co/DTl19HFozf
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) October 19, 2018

Still has the helmet I wonder if this was Babcocks idea to stay in shape
— Jack Sider (@jack_sider) October 19, 2018

The Leafs miss you, Willy!!!
— Patrick Dennis (@WestCoastPat) October 19, 2018

The amount of things wrong with this are too many to count
— s (@tronnaleafs) October 19, 2018

Future St. Louis Blue
— John Morgan (@jmorgan9966) October 19, 2018

I miss him
— Kwuser Lotack 💧 (@kwuser21) October 19, 2018

Signing Nylander won’t be an easy task. The Swede has repeastedly suggested he’s looking for a long-term contract and the Leafs’ signing of Tavares to a seven-year, $77 million deal, along with the need to sign Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews might confuse things a bit. In the meantime, Kasperi Kapanen has been playing alongside Matthews on the top line and has been performing quite well.